Opera, the browser that's often first to try out cutting-edge features, is getting a bit of much-needed catch-up work in its next alpha release. The browser will feature extension support that will feel familiar to how Firefox and Chrome offer add-ons.

In a blog post, the Opera team notes that extensions will be based on the W3C Widget specifications, and that care was being taken to ensure an easy porting experience for extensions on other browsers. Extensions can offer a button next to the search bar, or not have any button at all. "Open web standards" are touted as a major focus of Opera's extension network, though, so the development process could differ in some ways from other browsers.

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What extensions need to come to Opera ASAP, in your mind? How could Opera do extensions better than those that have come before?